Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon said President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds met on Wednesday with officials from Caribbean Airlines to discuss the airline’s airfare structure and its customer service.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release Luncheon said the meeting dealt with the cost of the airfare for travelling from Guyana. “It was pointed out at Cabinet that Caribbean Airlines would have grave difficulties in explaining how the cost of an airfare from Trinidad to JFK in New York could compare so unfavourably with the airfare from Georgetown to New York or even Georgetown to Trinidad,” Luncheon said.
After the meeting, the prime minister said the officials explained that their price structure is flexible and customers can choose from a number of services that suit them. However, he said, “They hope to get back to a situation where international flights to Guyana cost maybe only US$60 more than the same flight to Trinidad.”
Caribbean Airlines CEO Philip Saunders said his company is committed to Guyana. “We work very hard to provide, I think, an excellent service and very good value for money and I think today’s meeting has helped us build further on that platform,” he said.
Saunders also said both the president and prime minister had raised the issue of the service provided to Guyanese travelling on to New York and other destinations, at Piarco Airport in Trinidad. He pledged to address the issue, explaining “that’s something we’ll act on and (see) how we can continue to enhance our in-flight service.”
GINA said Caribbean Airlines officials Professor Jean-Frédéric Mognetti, Strategic Advisor to the Board of Directors and the CEO, Robert Corbie, Commercial Vice President, Dayanand Birju, Director, Network and Revenue Management and Guyana General Manager Carlton De Four also attended the meeting.
